Violence against women and girls is an urgent issue across the world. It also manifests in specific and grave ways across the African continent. As the continent moves online, so has violence against women. New technologies are increasingly instrumentalised and weaponised to harm women and girls through deepfakes, doxxing, cyber-bullying, surveillance, and spreading non-consensual intimate images. These various forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) can often precede or occur alongside offline violence. The rapid development and use of AI tools have further exacerbated the issue.
The African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (the Convention), adopted in February 2025, is an important step in addressing this challenge. [1] The Convention will enter into force once 15 Member States have ratified it.[2] However, it is glaring that the Convention falls short of naming or providing practical guidance for the reality of serious attacks, abuse, and harassment faced by women and girls online. This gap stands in contrast to resolutions by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, efforts such as the African Union Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy, initiatives spearheaded by UN Women, and reports of the UN Secretary General,[3] all of which recognise the unique risks posed by TFGBV.
These risks are particularly acute for women journalists, human rights defenders, and other women active in public life. Seventy percent have experienced online violence in the course of their work; a quarter experienced AI-assisted violence, and over 40 percent were subject to offline attacks, abuse or harassment linked with that online violence.[4]Globally, online to offline violence for women journalists and media workers doubled between 2020 and 2025.[5]
ARTICLE 19 is concerned that the Convention does not address these issues, while simultaneously containing provisions that may pose threats to freedom of expression:
- The Convention fails to define TFGBV as a separate, complex form of harm against women and girls which requires distinct analysis, understanding, and response.
- The Convention does not identify the separate risks posed to women journalists, human rights defenders, and other women participating in public life.
- It identifies ‘violence against women and girls’ in an overbroad manner inconsistent with international declarations and guidance.
- It frames the main role of the State as providing legal or criminal penalties without providing safeguarding against how those might be misused, risking potential overcriminalization without addressing root societal causes of violence against women and girls.
- It does not address the risks posed by weaponisation of judicial systems against women that participate in public life or come forward or speak out about abuse.
To support human rights-compliant interpretation and implementation of the Convention, should it enter into force, and to inform broader action on TFGBV and freedom of expression in Africa, ARTICLE 19 offers the following recommendations to States:
- States should recognise the distinct risks and harms women and girls face in digital environments and ensure that responses reflect the full scale and specificity of TFGBV.
- States should acknowledge the critical role of social media companies in addressing TFGBV and consider their responsibilities when designing measures to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.
- States should explicitly recognise the heightened risks faced by women journalists, human rights defenders, and politicians. They should adopt guidance and practical measures to ensure protection mechanisms, online safety strategies, and legal frameworks adequately respond to the specific threats these women encounter in the public sphere.
- The Convention, including its definition of “violence” against women and girls, should be interpreted in a manner consistent with international human rights law to avoid criminalising protected speech.
- Any use of criminal law to address online violence and harassment against women and girls must comply with international and regional human rights law.
States should take measures to prevent and address the misuse of judicial systems against women and girls who speak out about violence, discrimination, or harassment.
[1] African Union, Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, adopted at the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, Addis Ababa, February 2025.
[2] See Article 17 of the Convention.
[3] See, for example, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Resolution on the Protection of Women Against Digital Violence in Africa, ACHPR/Res. 522, 11 August 2022; African Union, Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy: Harnessing AI for Africa’s Development and Prosperity, July 2024; UN Women, UNGA 79: Intensification of Efforts to Eliminate All Forms of Violence Against Women and Girls: Technology Facilitated Violence Against Women and Girls; Report of the UN Secretary General, Intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls: technology-facilitated violence against women and girls, UN Doc. A/79/500, 8 October 2024; UN Women, Technology-facilitated Violence against Women: Towards a common definition, Report of the meeting of the Expert Group, 15-16 November 2022.
[4] UN Women, Tipping Point: The Chilling Escalation of Online Violence Against Women in the Public Sphere, 2025.
[5] Ibid., p. 6.